Footrest waterfall shower

ABSTRACT

A showerhead assembly includes a showerhead assembly mounted to a shower wall above a footrest. The showerhead showers water directly on the footrest to provide a waterfall effect on a bather&#39;s foot thereby permitting lathering and shaving of the bather&#39;s leg while providing a soothing massage affect to the foot. When pivoted to another position, the showerhead showers the water past the footrest to provide a waterfall effect on a bather&#39;s leg thereby permitting convenient rinsing of the bather&#39;s leg prior and after to shaving.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shower, and more particularly toshowerhead mounted adjacent a shower or tub surround to facilitate legshaving within a waterfall effect.

Oversized luxury showers and tubs are becoming increasing desirable innew construction and bathroom renovations. Such showers typicallyinclude one or more multi-function showerheads that have a plurality ofspray modes, including various standard sprays and pulsed sprays. Theseshowers will also often include hand-held shower sprayers. Luxury tubsurrounds typically include numerous water jets or other water effectswhich are utilized to fill the tub.

Disadvantageously, even with the multitude of showerheads and spraydevices, women must contend with difficulties while shaving their legs.The contortions required to shave legs may prove difficult and minimizethe comfort and enjoyment of bathing. A woman typically uses the ledgeof a tub or seat within the shower to raise her foot above the floor tofacilitate leg shaving. Furthermore, the woman must move her leg in andout of the water spray or retrieve and replace a hand-held sprayer torinse her legs which may minimize the warmth and comfort of the bathingexperience.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a convenient showerhead assemblyfor a woman to shave her legs without minimizing the warmth and comfortof the bathing experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A showerhead assembly according to the present invention includes ashowerhead assembly mounted to a shower wall above a footrest. Theshowerhead is pivotable such the showerhead permits the water to beshowered as sheets directly on the footrest to provide a waterfalleffect on a bather's foot thereby permitting lathering and shaving ofthe bather's leg while providing a soothing massage affect to the foot.When pivoted to another position, the showerhead showers the bather'sleg thereby permitting convenient rinsing prior and after to shaving.

The present invention therefore provides a convenient showerheadassembly for a woman to shave her legs without minimizing the warmth andcomfort of the bathing experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various features and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of the currently preferred embodiment. The drawings thataccompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view a showerhead assembly according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic side view of the showerhead assembly in a firstposition; and

FIG. 2B is a schematic side view of the showerhead assembly in a secondposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates a general perspective view of a shower 10. The shower10 generally includes a base 12, and one or more walls 14. It should beunderstood that the term “base” is not limited to just shower bases butthat relatively deeper tubs and the like will also benefit from thepresent invention. It should be understood that although a particularcomponent arrangement is disclosed in the illustrated embodiment, otherarrangements, e.g. molded surround or tiled construction will benefitfrom the instant invention.

The shower 10 includes a showerhead assembly 18 mounted to the wall 14adjacent to a ledge 20 of the shower 10. It should be understood thatalthough a ledge of a particular component arrangement is disclosed inthe illustrated embodiment, other arrangements such as a shower surroundledges or tub surrounds will likewise benefit from the instantinvention.

The showerhead assembly 18 includes a deflector 22 such as a footrestand a showerhead 24 mounted to the wall 14. The deflector 22 ispreferably located just above the ledge 20, however, it should beunderstood that the deflector 22 may be located at any convenient heightalong the wall 14. The deflector 22 is preferably of a concave shapesuch that water from the showerhead 24 is directed to impinge off thedeflector 22 and into the base 12. The deflector 22 also preferablyincludes a textured surface to further facilitate support of a footwhile shaving. It should be understood that although a footrest isdisclosed in the illustrated embodiment, other arrangements such as adeflector which directs water flow onto a bather's back will likewise beusable with the instant invention.

The showerhead 24 is mounted to the wall 14 generally above the footrest22. Notably, the showerhead 24 is located relatively low in height onthe wall 14. The showerhead 24 is generally rectilinear in shape suchthat water is dispensed as sheets therefrom generally parallel to thewall 14 for a waterfall-like effect. It should be understood thatalthough a rectilinear waterfall shower is preferred, other showerheadswith other shower effects will also be usable with the presentinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the showerhead 24 is preferably manuallypivotable about a pivot axis P defined parallel to the wall 14. Theshowerhead 24 permits the water to be showered as sheets directly on thedeflector 22 (FIG. 2A). Such a position provides the waterfall effect ona bather's foot thereby permitting lathering and shaving of the bather'sleg while providing a soothing massage affect to the foot. When pivotedto the position illustrated in FIG. 2B, the showerhead 24 showers thewater past the deflector 22 and directly into the base 12. Such aposition directs the waterfall effect onto the bather's leg therebypermitting convenient rinsing prior to and after shaving.

Although particular step sequences are shown, described, and claimed, itshould be understood that steps may be performed in any order, separatedor combined unless otherwise indicated and will still benefit from thepresent invention.

The foregoing description is exemplary rather than defined by thelimitations within. Many modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferredembodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, one ofordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modificationswould come within the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For thatreason the following claims should be studied to determine the truescope and content of this invention.

1. A showerhead assembly comprising: a deflector; and a showerheadadjacent said deflector to dispense a shower of water toward saiddeflector.
 2. The showerhead assembly as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid showerhead dispenses said shower of water as a sheet.
 3. Theshowerhead assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein said showerhead isarticulatable to direct said shower of water.
 4. The showerhead assemblyas recited in claim 1, wherein said showerhead is rectilinear.
 5. Theshowerhead assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein said showerhead isgenerally parallel to said deflector.
 6. The showerhead assembly asrecited in claim 1, wherein said deflector is a footrest.
 7. A showercomprising: a shower wall; a deflector mounted to said shower wall; anda showerhead mounted to said shower wall adjacent said deflector todispense a shower of water toward said deflector.
 8. The shower asrecited in claim 7, wherein said showerhead dispenses said shower ofwater as a sheet.
 9. The showerhead assembly as recited in claim 7,wherein said showerhead is articulatable to direct said shower of water.10. The showerhead assembly as recited in claim 7, wherein saiddeflector is located adjacent a ledge of a tub.
 11. The showerheadassembly as recited in claim 7, wherein said showerhead is generallyparallel to said deflector.
 12. The showerhead assembly as recited inclaim 7, wherein said deflector is a footrest.
 13. A tub surroundcomprising: a deflector mounted adjacent to a ledge of a tub; and ashowerhead mounted adjacent to said deflector to dispense a shower ofwater toward said deflector.
 14. The shower as recited in claim 13,wherein said showerhead dispenses said shower of water as a sheet. 15.The showerhead assembly as recited in claim 13, wherein said showerheadis articulatable to direct said shower of water.
 16. The showerheadassembly as recited in claim 13, wherein said showerhead is generallyparallel to said deflector.
 15. A method of showering water comprisingthe steps of: (1) locating a showerhead over a deflector; and (2)showering water from the showerhead toward the deflector.
 16. A methodas recited in claim 15, further comprising the step of: articulating theshowerhead.
 17. A method as recited in claim 15, further comprising thestep of: locating the showerhead on a wall of a tub surround.
 18. Amethod as recited in claim 15, further comprising the step of: locatingthe showerhead on a wall of a shower surround.
 19. A method as recitedin claim 15, wherein said step (2) further comprises: showering waterfrom the showerhead as a sheet of water.